The Girl Who Dreamed of the Stars
by candy2112
Summary: Cassie Reynolds is thrown into the Doctor's universe. Completely unprepared, and slightly disbelieving, she has to learn to survive through the many adventures she faces. Though she has many questions, only one remains unanswered; how is she here? Follow Cassie as she learns to live, and even love, through time and space. Includes every incarnation of the Doctor! Rating may change!


**Welcome to my new Doctor Who Fanfic! For those of you who recognize the opening of this story, it is because I used it as an opener for my other Doctor Who Fanfic, but I didn't like how it was turning out so I deleted that story. I did change my character's name, so if you see any mention of 'Shiloh', please let me know as her name is now Cassie.**

 **Note: Please, please review! If you want to see a specific episode, let me know and I will try to add it to my que! Sometimes, however, I will not be able to as I already have plans for a few episodes and can't move them around, but I will let you know if that is the case.**

 **Disclaimer: I do NOT own Doctor who. I do, however, own my OC, Cassiopeia Reynolds, and the story behind her.**

This is the story of a girl who dreamed of the stars. When she was little her mother told her of the wonderful stars. She told her that whenever someone died, their souls flew away to live out their existence in the presence of the wonderful stars, always traveling, always happy. Of course years later when she was in school she learned what stars really were. She learned that you really don't "fly" in space, you just float, unless you're a spaceship, which wasn't in her mother's stories. Stars were just big balls of gas that lit up the night sky and nothing more. Well, that's what her teachers kept telling her at least. She knew it was true, yes, but she believed that those big balls of gas could mean so much more.

On her twelfth birthday her mother bought her a telescope. Her mother had been extremely short on money that year, but her she would have done anything to see her daughter smile. But as everyone knows, all good things must come to an end. Two months after her amazing birthday her mother died of cancer. She had had a brain tumor slowly killing her for years, but no one knew until it was too late. She remained by her mother's bed up until the very end, always calm, quiet, and strong for her mother's sake. She knew, even though it was painful, that her mother would soon be happy traveling amongst the stars. She also knew that one day she would join her and together they would explore the galaxies, maybe even beyond. That was the only thought that kept her strong.

The morning of her mother's death came quickly. She wasn't strong enough to hold the tears back anymore. Being strong was too hard. Her mother spoke few words, but those words meant more to her than any words that would ever be spoken. "Never forget, my dear, the stars are yours to explore. I love you, Cassiopeia Reynolds, no matter how far away, or how long I'm gone, I will always love you." After that night Cassiopeia was sent to orphanage after orphanage, no one wanting to keep the strange, quiet girl. It took four long years for her to finally find a reason to exist again, and that reason was The Doctor.

It was in her fifth orphanage that she met her best friend, Claire Evans, a fifteen year old girl who had been an orphan all her life. Claire was the exact opposite of Shiloh at 5'10" and lanky, maybe 120 lbs. She had the purest white-blonde hair and the brightest blue eyes. She was the envy of all the girls in the orphanage. The only problem was her temper. It was the reason she never had a family take her in for long. Cassiopeia had been the only person not fazed by her harsh tongue. She was the only one who didn't cower in fear of her glare. Claire seemed to be the only person who could get Shiloh to smile. Maybe that was why they were friends.

Opposite from Claire was Cassiopeia, nicknamed Cassie by Claire. She was a little on the short side at 5'2" and wasn't quite thin. She wasn't obese by any means, but she described herself as "soft". She had dark brown hair that reached the middle of her back, but is almost always in a neat bun, and green eyes that she thought were dull. Claire says her eyes are like the leaves on a tree. Sometimes they are deep green like an old and untouched forest, other times they are bright like the very first green leaf of the season. However, looks aside, the biggest difference between the two friends was their attitudes. Unlike Claire's temper, Cassie was calm and quiet. Patient and reserved could also be used, but more than anything she was a dreamer. She was often lost in her thoughts, thinking of the why's and how's of life. A world without dreams would be a world with no hope.

Claire is the person who inadvertently starts Cassie on her adventure. She is the one to introduce Cassie to the wonderful universe of Doctor Who. Almost as soon as the two teenage girls became friends, Claire would talk of nothing except Doctor Who. She was your average obsessed fan-girl. After literally forcing Cassie to watch the first episode of the new 2005 series, she was hooked. She watched every episode absorbing it all like a sponge and impatiently waiting for the next episode. In the down time between episodes she would watch all the classic episodes and research everything she could get her hands on. The Sarah Jane Adventures and Torchwood were added onto her list in turn and she loved it. The Doctor Who Universe was everything she had ever dreamed of and more.

As she grew older she parted ways with many friends, including Claire, but Doctor Who was the one thing that always remained. And lying in bed on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, the girl who dreamed of the stars couldn't even imagine the adventure that would soon begin. This is the story of how the girl who dreamed of the stars became the girl who explored them. This is the story of me, Cassiopeia Reynolds.

The morning of her birthday had been fairly normal, nothing to out of the ordinary. Her neighbor, Mrs. Grieser wished Cassie a happy birthday on her way out of her tiny apartment. Making her way up the crowded street of New York City towards her favorite coffee shop, her best friend Maxine, Max for short, Peterson joined her and wished her a happy birthday as well. The man behind the counter flirted with Max the whole time they were there, only pausing slightly to wish Cassie a pleasant birthday. Classes at the local university were the same as always; boring. The only class she found to be of interest was her elective astronomy class. Her professor, Dr. Clarke, was nicer than normal to her, making sure to only insult her intelligence once the entire class. Even with the professor's attitude she still enjoyed the class, absorbing all the information she could. When classes were over Cassie met up with Maxine at the local bookshop for some individual research on their respective projects, ending their day with a trip to Jen's Bistro at the end of the block. After they had finished eating the girls decided to head back to Cassie's apartment and finish off her birthday with a Doctor Who marathon.

Reaching her apartment, Cassie was surprised to see a large, flat package waiting outside her door. Making sure it was addressed to her, she opened up her door and sat the package on the table in the entryway.

"What do you think it is?" Max asked. She was hovering over Cassie's shoulder, her breath tickling Cassie's ear. Glancing at her friend, Cassie playfully shoved her away. Finding a pair of scissors she began to slowly open the box. Inside was a note on top of another package. Opening the note she began to read out loud.

 _Dearest Cassiopeia,_

 _I've known you for three years now and these three years have been the best. You are the best friend a girl could ask for. So I thought I would get you something amazing this year, and no, you can't return it. I bought you your own star. I know how much you love the stars, so I thought you would like this. I also took the liberty of naming the star for you, I figured you wouldn't mind too much. Happy birthday my dearest friend, and know I will be with you forever, no matter what._

 _Love,_

 _Max_

Turning to Max with tears in her eyes threatening to spill over, Cassie lunged at her friend and hugged her as tight as possible. "You haven't even seen the best part yet," Max joked. Holding Cassie tight Max laughed softly before gently pulling her off. "Come on, open up the real present!"

"Way to ruin a moment, Max." Cassie laughed but complied with her request. Gently tearing open the slightly smaller box Cassie was faced with three pieces of paper. One was the certificate which read 'To Cassiopeia Reynolds, the best friend in the entire universe. Your star, Arielle, is viewable at the coordinates 6 39 15.70, 2 16 22.16. We hope you love your star as much as we do.' "You named the star after my mother?" She couldn't hold the tears back any longer. Tracing her finger across her mother's name she smiled. One day she would visit her mother's star and nothing was going to stop her.

"Do you like it? Cause if you don't I was kidding about not returning it. If you really don't like it there is a way or we could change the name, whichever you want. It's up to y-" Cutting Max off, Cassie placed her hand over her mouth.

"Oh shut up, Max. This is the best present I have ever gotten. I don't think anyone will ever be able to top this! And don't worry about the name, I love it. My mother would have loved it too," Cassie took her hand off her friend's mouth, "Now, what else could possibly be in this box?"

Laughing the women turned back to the box. The two papers left in the box were a poster of the galaxy in which her star was located and the other was a framed sky chart of the constellation containing the star with a red circle around the star that was hers. Once more hugging her friend, Cassie grabbed her present and ran into her bedroom. After placing the poster on the wall opposite her bed, Cassie hung the framed sky chart above her bed and placed the certificate on her bookshelf to be framed later. Returning to the living room, Cassie and Max began their marathon of Doctor Who with the fifth season. They managed to get through six episodes before they fell asleep. Neither girl noticed when the TV shut itself off, nor did they notice the golden glow enveloping Cassie.

Cassie woke up to a major headache. Holding her head in her hands, she didn't dare move to sit up, not yet at least. When the headache subsided to a dull thud, Cassie sat up and opened her eyes. It took her a minute for her eyes to adjust to her surroundings, and when they did, she sprung to her feet with a gasp. Wherever she was, it definitely wasn't her apartment. Looking at her surroundings, she felt as though she knew where she was, but she couldn't quite place it. With furrowed eyebrows, she took in the odd floor with holes a few feet wide and a staircase leading to a platform with a glass floor. Turning and moving to the staircase, Cassie cautiously made her way up it, hoping to find the door so she could leave here, wherever 'here' was. When she reached the top of the stairs, her jaw dropped at the sight before her. She was in an exact replica of the 11th Doctor's TARDIS during Amy and Rory's time. The orange interior was warm and welcoming, and the console was beautifully recreated. It was so perfect that Cassie couldn't help but run her fingers lightly across the edge of the console, smiling gently, before shaking her head and looking around for the door. While it may have been a dream of hers to see the TARDIS, she didn't want to stick around and meet her abductor. She didn't get far when she heard a deep inhalation behind her and then felt two arms wrap around her waist.

"Cas! I'm so glad you could make it, I haven't seen you in a few days." Cassie froze at the strangers touch, but she quickly jerked herself out of his arms and spun around to face him, holding her hands out in front of her in a defensive position.

"D-don't touch me! Who are you and where have you taken me?!" Hoping that the man, whoever he was, couldn't see her shock at his appearance, which looked _exactly_ like Matt Smith who played the 11th Doctor, Cassie briefly wondered if she could outrun this man, but thought better of it. As soon as the words fell from her lips, however, his face, which had previously held a large smile, dropped into a frown. He didn't try to step toward her, which made her relax slightly, but he did raise his hands in an 'I surrender' type of motion.

"Cas, please tell me you know who I am?" The despair in his voice almost made Cassie cringe, but she managed to hold it in.

"You're quite obviously obsessed with the TV show Doctor Who, but no, I've never met you before in my life. And don't call me that. My name's not Cas, it's Cassie." The stranger's face fell even further, but it was almost immediately wiped off his face and replaced with a look of curiosity and worry. His hands fell to his side and he cleared his throat once, glancing away from Cassie briefly before smiling gently.

"Cassie, I know this is confusing, and probably scary, but I can promise you that you're safe here." Cassie couldn't help but raise her eyebrows, surprised that he, her abductor, was trying to tell her she was 'safe'. "I know you don't believe me yet, but you will. You can call me the Doctor. I'm a Tim-"

"You're a Time Lord from the planet Gallifrey. You travel through time and space in your TARDIS, stands for Time and Relative Dimension in Space. You say you're in your eleventh incarnation, though technically it's your twelfth incarnation and your thirteenth regeneration. Based on the décor, you're currently traveling with Amelia Pond and possibly her fiancé, Rory Williams. You're over 900 years old, possibly over 1,000 depending on where you are in your timeline. But none of that matters, would you like to know why?" Cassie asked. She hadn't dared to move, afraid that the man would drag her right back, but the man had slumped slightly when she began talking, his eyes filled with curiosity. He could only nod, unable to find his voice. "It doesn't matter, because you're not real. The Doctor doesn't exist and he never will. Doctor Who is merely a television series depicting the life of a time traveler, not a real life story. Whoever you are, you're a fake." With that, Cassie turned her back, determined to exit the TARDIS replica, and ran to the doors.

"Wait, don't-" Cassie didn't bother listening to what he was saying, only wanting to get out. Flinging the door open, Cassie stopped short at the view before her. In front of her was the Earth, but not in the way she was used to. They seemed to be orbiting the planet from far away. She immediately took a step back, unable to process the sight before her. She felt the man come up behind her, but he didn't touch her, for which she was thankful. "Cassie, I promise you that I am real. You may know who I am, but this is the first time you've met me. I've known you for many, many years now. You are Cassiopeia Reynolds. You were human once, and you lived in America. Your mother died when you were twelve and you were sent to an orphanage, which is where you learned of me. At the moment, you are twenty one years old, and today is your birthday." Cassie could feel the tears making a path down her cheeks, but she didn't care. She turned slightly to glance at the man, the Doctor, who's eyes were filled with pain and longing. She didn't understand why he was feeling that way, but she wasn't in the right frame of mind to question him. "I promise, Cassie, that you are safe. I promise that I will always be there, no matter what, and that you can talk to me. After all this time, though you haven't lived through it yet, I've grown quite fond of you. Please don't fear me. I don't think my hearts could take it."

Cassie couldn't help it; she laughed. Her mind was still processing everything, but hearing him admit to two hearts had been the cherry on top. "D-do you really?" She gestured to his chest, unable to form the words through her giggles. A small smile appeared on his face, though he was still worried, and he nodded. Cassie watched as he reached toward her, his palm facing up in a silent question. He didn't force her to place her hand in his, but instead gave her the option to choose whether she did or not. After a moment's hesitation, Cassie put her hand is his and watched as he brought her hand to the left side of his chest. She could feel the thudding of his heart under her palm for a second, and then he moved her hand to the other side of his chest and smiled gently as her eyes widened. She could feel his second heart beating under her hand, completely real and racing slightly. "I-I um," Cassie ran her free hand through her brown hair. "How is this possible?"

"Well, all Time Lords have two-," Cassie's lips quirked up slightly at his words.

"No, I meant how is it possible that I'm here? Why am I here?" The Doctor, now understanding her question, made a small 'o' with his mouth. He dropped his hand, letting hers fall to her side once more, and took a few steps back to lean against the railing. Crossing his arms over his chest, he let his gaze fall to the floor, a thoughtful frown etched on his face.

"Ah, well, it's complicated. I've done multiple test over the years, and each test comes out the same. Somehow you were exposed to Raylon particles over a period of time. Raylon particles are from the time vortex itself. When you had been exposed to enough of them, they transported your from your universe to this one. While it may have felt like a relatively short time traveling from your world to this one, it was actually about four months. Every time you jump, as we call it, it takes anywhere from two weeks to two years, depending on how far away in time you're jumping. The problem with this is, you shouldn't have been exposed to these particles without traveling in time somehow, and from what you've told me, you'd never done that until you met me." The Doctor kept his gaze trained on Cassie, his eyes portraying the honesty behind his words. Cassie, only slightly understanding what he meant, nodded. Unable to help it, she slumped against the wall, feeling as if the weight of the world was upon her shoulders. After a few minutes of silence, both thinking about what had happened, Cassie found her voice once more.

"When you say you've known me for years, exactly how many years do you mean?" She met his gaze for a moment, then lowered her eyes to the floor, almost afraid of the answer. The Doctor let out a low sigh before answering.

"I first met you in my first incarnation. I've known you ever since. You're not always with me, sometimes a few weeks pass by before you show up again, but you've always been there with every version of me. If I had to guess, I'd say you've spent over 875 years with me." Cassie snapped her head up, shocked at his answer, before gasping in pain and grabbing her head as she collapsed to the floor.

"What's happening?" Her head felt as if someone was pounding on it with a mallet. The TARDIS became blurry from the intense pain, only a golden glow through tear filled eyes. She felt rather than saw the Doctor crouched in front of her, his hands flitting about her, trying to placate her.

"You're jumping to another time. I know it hurts, but I can promise that the pain will go away in a few minutes. When it does, you'll be with me, but I might look different. Different face, same man. I swear that it will be me, though. Cas, it'll be alright." With those words, Cassie felt the world around her disappear. The pain began to fade after a moment or two. After what felt like seconds, Cassie felt the ground beneath her feet once more. Taking a moment to look around, Cassie frowned at the cluttered room with sarcophagi and boxes taking up most of the space. The room looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Before she made to stand, however, the wheezing sound of the TARDIS was heard. Cassie couldn't help the small grin that lit up her face at the sound before she shook her head and looked for the beautiful, blue box. Within seconds, the TARDIS materialized a few feet away from her, the doors facing slightly to the right of her. Rising to her feet slowly, Cassie was unprepared for the sight that greeted her when the doors to the magnificent box opened.

The fourth Doctor, with his curly hair, brown hat, and ridiculously long scarf stepped out, closely followed by Sarah Jane Smith. Neither of the time travelers seemed to notice Cassie for a moment, but when they turned slightly, the Doctor was the first one to see her. A bright grin appeared on his face, causing Cassie's heart to stutter for a second. While Cassie had loved every version of the Doctor, his fourth incarnation was among her favorites, and her list of favorites was quite long. "Cas! I was wondering when you'd get here." In three long strides, the Doctor was directly in front of her, his hands immediately pulling her into his chest and hugging the life out of her. Cassie, too shocked to hug him back, merely stood still with her eyes blown wide. She still wasn't entirely convinced this wasn't a dream, even though that headache was the worst she'd ever had, but if it was a dream, it was the best one she'd ever had. After another moment or two, the Doctor seemed to realize that she wasn't hugging him back and pulled away, still holding onto her shoulder. "What's wrong, Cas?"

"N-nothings wrong," she stuttered out. She had to look up at an odd angle, him being over a foot taller than her, for her to see his face. His reply came in the form of a raised eyebrow, but before Cassie could make even more of a fool out of herself, the Doctor was pushed to the side slightly by a beaming Sarah Jane.

"I missed you, Cas!" Cassie briefly wondered why everyone was calling her 'Cas', but she let it go as Sarah Jane enveloped her in a hug. Once again, shocked into silence, Cassie could only stand there, her mouth hanging open in shock. When Sarah Jane pulled back, Cassie managed to pull herself together enough to voice her thoughts.

"Oh my god, you're Sarah Jane Smith! I can't believe I actually get to meet you!" Cassie barely managed to hold in the girly squeal that she wanted to do. "This is the best dream I've ever had." As soon as she had begun to speak, both of the time travelers faces had fallen, though Sarah Jane's was slightly surprised as well, but at her last words, the Doctor got a pained look.

"Cas, what's the number?" He asked, a frown still marring his features. Cassie frowned as well, but for a different reason.

"Number? What number? And why does everyone call me that? My name is Cassie." The Doctor sighed and took another step back, his eyes sad.

"The number is the number of times you've jumped through time. It's really the only way I can tell how far along in our time line you are." Cassie nodded slightly, now understanding what he meant.

"Well, then I guess the number is one." He didn't seem too surprised at this. ' _Probably because I would've known what he was talking about if I had been farther in our time line_ ,' she thought.

"I call you 'Cas' because that's how you introduced yourself when I first met you. I can call you Cassie instead, though." Cassie shook her head.

"No, it's alright, I was just curious." The silence between everyone was deafening in that moment, making Cassie want to wince. "So, uh, what are we doing here?" With those words, it seemed as if the Doctor cleared his mind of his thoughts and focused on what brought them here in the first place.

"Sarah Jane and I were trying to get back to UNIT, but the TARDIS materialized here instead." He paused for a moment, looking around the room. "We're at the correct point in space, but obviously not in time. A temporal reverse? Some vast impulse of energy has drawn the TARDIS off course." He walked around some of the objects and boxes, studying them closely.

"You're saying this is UNIT HQ, but years before I knew it?" Sarah Jane asked, wonder filling her tone.

"Yes". The Doctor didn't even glance her way as he answered.

"But it's so different. It can't be the same house." Sarah Jane, who spared Cassie one last glance, moved to examine the nearest sarcophagus. Cassie, now knowing what episode she was dreaming of, stepped up beside Sarah Jane.

"It's the old priory. The UNIT house was built on the site." The Doctor smiled gently at Cassie and nodded.

"The old priory was burnt down, wasn't it?" Sarah Jane asked.

It was Cassie's turn to nod as the Doctor spoke. "Something's very wrong." Cassie and Sarah Jane moved away from the sarcophagus and stepped up to the Doctor's side. Cassie wasn't worried about what was to come because none of it was real, but Sarah Jane seemed shaken up.

"Doctor, I don't like it here," the reporter said, her voice shaking slightly. The Doctor didn't even glance her way, but Cassie could tell he didn't like it here as well.

"Something's going on contrary to the laws of the universe. I must find out what." The trio moved through the archway and down a small hallway, toward the door at the end. Cassie had to keep glancing down at her feet to make sure she didn't step on the Doctor's scarf. Once they reached the door, the Doctor tried turning the knob to find that it was locked. "Why bother to lock an internal door?"

"Maybe this wing of the house isn't in use. It smells musty enough," Sarah said, her nose wrinkling slightly at the smell.

"It's not all must, Sarah. Some of it's the smell from the mummies," Cassie supplied. Sarah Jane's eyes widened a fraction of an inch, disgust written all over her face. Cassie shrugged and turned her attention back to the Doctor. He spun around to the door quickly, seeming to not be paying attention to the two girls, but Cassie knew better. He pulled out a long, thin object and sank to his knees.

"French picklock. Never fails. Belonged to Marie Antoinette, charming lady. Lost her head, poor thing." Before he could put the picklock in place, they heard the door getting unlocked from the other side. The Doctor stood and ran back down the hallway, pulling Cassie along behind him. They rounded the corner just as the door opened, giving the Doctor enough time to think of a plan. "Of course, it would make an ideal headquarters for some paramilitary organization. This room could easily be turned into a laboratory. Oh, hello." A man in a nice suit, Collins, entered the storage room, surprise etched on his face.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?" Cassie wanted to grin at the astonishment coloring his tone, but she held it in and leaned against one of the boxes, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Through the window. I understood the property was for sale, no?" For a brief moment, Collin's seems completely confused, but then his frown lessened slightly and he got a knowing glint in his eyes.

"Ah, you're not fooling me, sir. You came with Doctor Warlock, didn't you?" Collin's asked, his tone now accusing.

"Did we?" The Doctor seemed to be barely holding back a smirk.

"He asked you to scout round whilst he kept his nibs busy. Listen, if you're a friend of Doctor Warlock, sir, tell him to watch out." Cassie was impressed at how real her dream was turning out. Even poor Collin's pure terror seemed to be real.

"Watch out for what?" Sarah asked.

Cassie turned to her new friend, giving her a small smile, before answering her question. "The Egyptian." Collin's nodded, although he looked slightly confused as to how she knew the answer.

"There's no knowing what he might do. He's got the temper of the devil himself," the man told them.

"Egyptian, eh? Is this where he keeps his relatives?" Cassie hid her giggle at the Doctor's words behind her hand, trying to make sure that no one could hear her. It seemed to be a failed effort on her part, however, as the Doctor turned and smirked at her, then turned back to Collin's.

Collin's sent both the Doctor and Cassie an unamused look. "It's no joke, sir. He's only been here a few days. I wouldn't be staying, but, well, situations aren't easy to find at my age."

"What are you afraid of?" The Doctor asked, all humor gone. Cassie knew that he was right. It wasn't a joking matter, especially considering what would happen to the poor old man in a matter of minutes, even if he wasn't real. Collin's moved a little closer to the group, lowering his voice slightly in fear of being heard by the people outside this room.

"He locked this wing. He didn't know there was a second key. If he were to find me along here, let alone you three, he'd go stark raving mad, sir." The Doctor nodded then turned to face Sarah Jane and Cassie.

"I see. In that case, we'd better leave." The trio moved to go back down the hallway, but Collin's stopped them, a slightly hysterical note in his voice.

"Oh, not this way, sir. Better go the way you came. He might see you." Sarah Jane looked to Cassie, a bit of a confused look on her face. Cassie gestured to the window, understanding the unspoken question, and smiled slightly when Sarah rolled her eyes.

"As you wish." The Doctor stepped up onto the window ledge, only stopping to turn back to Collin's when the man spoke again.

"And remember to tell Doctor Warlock what I said, sir."

The Doctor dropped his voice to an exaggerated whisper, "Don't worry. I'll remember." With that, he jumped out the window and turned to help Sarah Jane. Cassie turned back to Collin's to give him a small, sad smile, then turned and jumped out of the window. She almost fell right into the Doctor, but he seemed to anticipate this and caught her with an arm around her waist. "Alright there?" It was said with a slight smirk. One that made Cassie want to swoon, but she resisted the urge and rolled her eyes, a light blush staining her pale cheeks.

"I could've managed," she huffed, only serving to make the Doctor's smirk widen.

"Yes, yes. Of course you could've." With that, he set her on her feet, dropped his arm, and led them along the building, waving to Collin's through the window before dropping to a crouch and hiding from view if someone was to look out a window. Sarah Jane and Cassie both ducked down as well, following his lead, and followed him for a minute until he stopped beneath a window. The Doctor carefully looked through the window, then ducked down again, motioning to the two girls behind him to be quiet. Cassie strained to hear the muffled voices beyond the walls, leaning closer to the Doctor in the process.

"Utter humbug. That letter's a bogus fabrication if ever I saw one." A man said.

"Are you alleging that it is forged?" A second man asked with a distinctly Egyptian accent. The Doctor met Cassie's eye, seeming to realize this as well.

"I am, sir, and I intend to prove it." The first man replied. Cassie almost winced at the thought of what happened to this man in his near future.

"I warn you, Doctor Warlock, do not interfere." The Egyptians tone was threatening, making Sarah Jane shiver slightly. Cassie offered the reporter a small smile, resting her hand on her shoulder. Sarah smiled at her in return, shrugging slightly in answer.

"Are you threatening me?" Doctor Warlock asked.

"It is not I who threaten. There are ancient powers gathering in this place. Powers beyond the comprehension of unbelievers." The Doctor rose from his crouch slightly, looking inside and frowning at what he saw before sinking back down into a crouch. Seemingly unaware of his actions, the Doctor slipped his hand onto hers, interlocking their fingers and squeezing gently. He didn't even look her way while doing so, just continued to stare off in the distance, listening intently to the conversation going on in the room beyond the wall. Cassie, however, found herself a new shade of red, rather close to the red patch on the Doctor's scarf. Sarah saw the whole exchange and offered a red faced Cassie a large smirk, making the shorter girl give her a half-hearted glare.

"Ancient balderdash. Now let me warn you, Namin. Unless you give me some straight answers, I'm going to the police." Warlock said, sounding completely aggravated at the situation he found himself in.

"To say what? That a foreigner is living in Professor Scarman's house?" Namin asked.

"To say that he's not been seen for weeks. That his baggage is lying unclaimed in his hotel. Oh, yes. I've had some enquiries made in Cairo." A scream interrupted Warlock, making all three of the hidden travelers glance to each other in alarm. "What the devil?"

The Doctor jumped up from his crouch, motioning for Sarah Jane and Cassie to stand as well, and climbed in through the window. Sarah quickly followed, holding her hand out to Cassie to help pull her in as well. As soon as both girls were in the room, the Doctor took off running, both of them hot on his heels. Cassie felt bad that Collin's had to die, but she knew that it had to happen, and it wasn't like he was real anyway. They reached the hallway to the storage room where the TARDIS was when they heard Namin, the Egyptian, speak once more.

"You should have listened when I told you to leave, Warlock. Now you have seen too much. You must be the second unbeliever to die." Within seconds, the Doctor had his scarf wrapped around Namin's neck, pulling him to the floor and restraining him, but not before a single shot was fired, hitting Warlock in the right side of his chest. Cassie ran around the squirming Egyptian on the floor, pulled Warlock to his feet, and pushed him out of the room, making sure to keep a hold of him in case he couldn't stay on his feet. Sarah Jane grabbed Warlock's other arm and helped to maneuver him down the hallway and out of the house. Cassie spared a glance backward towards the Doctor, letting out a relived sigh when he was right behind them, a worried look on his face, but a gentle smile directed at her.

Cassie and Sarah managed to get Warlock down the steps of the house and halfway across the lawn, close to the garden, before he collapsed on top of them. Sarah Jane fell to the side, catching herself on a stone ledge of a fountain, leaving Cassie to carry the full weight of Warlock. The Doctor spared no time in pulling the wounded man out of her arms and helping him to stand, giving Cassie a questioning glance. Nodding and letting out a large breath, Cassie went to Sarah Jane and helped her up, then took off after the Doctor once more. Warlock, it seemed, wasn't able to get very far. Before they were out of the garden and into the woods, he collapsed once more. "It's no good, I can't go much further."

The Doctor knelt down next to him, pulling out a cloth from his bigger-on-the-inside pockets and pressing it to Warlock's bleeding chest. "You must. We're sitting ducks if we stay here."

"Get to the lodge. Tell Laurence." Cassie crouched down next to Warlock and put a hand on his shoulder, missing the look the Doctor was giving her.

"You'll be able to tell him yourself, Doctor Warlock. No sense in giving up now, is there?" Warlock only smiled briefly at her before turning back to the Doctor.

"Marcus Scarman's brother, Laurence. He lives there. Knows me." With those words, Warlock relaxed as much as he could with the pain from the bullet.

"He needs help, Sarah, Cas. You two go on ahead, find the lodge." Cassie nodded, not even caring that he called her 'Cas', and took off on the path through the woods. Sarah Jane was able to run for quite a few minutes, not even breaking a sweat, but Cassie was barely even able to breath with the strain of running for so long. Both girls stopped short once they saw a figure in the trees ahead of them. Cassie grabbed Sarah's hand and pulled her into a hollow behind a tree. Pressing a finger to her lips, Cassie could only hope Sarah understood and would remain quiet. The mummy stood there for a few seconds before turning and going in the other direction. Cassie let out a sigh, relieved that they didn't have to deal with the mummies as of yet, and pulled Sarah Jane along behind her out of the hollow. Quickly taking off in the direction they were originally headed, Cassie was the first to see the lodge through a gap in the trees.

"Look, Sarah. The lodge." The girls shared a look and ran to the front of the lodge, knocking furiously until Laurence Scarman opened the door. "Doctor Warlock's been shot, we need help getting him here. Follow us!" In a matter of minutes, Cassie, Sarah Jane, and Laurence Scarman found the Doctor and Warlock, crouched behind a tree.

"Oh, my dear chap. Is he badly hurt?" Laurence asked, concern leaking into his tone. Cassie knelt next to the Doctor, who seemed slightly out of it, and gave him a concerned look. He merely shook his head and turned to Laurence.

"He'll be all right if we can staunch the bleeding."

Laurence nodded, before helping the Doctor lift Warlock back up. "We'd better get him back to the lodge."

"Doctor, listen. I saw a mummy. A walking mummy!" Sarah exclaimed. Cassie understood where she was coming from, but she also knew that it wasn't actually a mummy; it was a robot disguised as a mummy.

"Not a mummy, Sarah. A robot." Cassie said. Sarah frowned slightly, but nodded.

"Correct, Cas. Mummies are embalmed, eviscerated corpses. They don't walk, Sarah." The Doctor was walking a little ahead of them, helping Laurence hold Warlock, so he didn't see Sarah Jane roll her eyes and pout slightly, which made Cassie smile.

"Well, it _looked_ like a mummy." Cassie giggled slightly at her friend, who smiled at her in return. Even if this was a dream, Cassie was glad to have met Sarah Jane Smith.

The walk back to the lodge was quick, as poor Warlock was still bleeding, but that didn't stop Sarah Jane and Cassie from talking. Neither girl noticed the Doctor sending them, more specifically Cassie, fond glances every few minutes, as they were too engrossed with their chatting. "Is this really your first time meeting the Doctor?" Sarah Jane asked, her voice lowered to a whisper.

"Not my first time, no, but my second. I met him briefly in one of his future regenerations, but only for a few minutes before I was whisked away here." Sarah nodded, a thoughtful look on her face.

"How are you handling it?"

Cassie sighed and frowned slightly. "It's," she paused, searching for the right word, "complicated." Sarah Jane rose one eyebrow in question. "Well, there's a very large part of me that believes this is all a dream. But then there's a very, very small part of me that believes that this is all real. The pain of the time vortex felt very real, and all of you guys feel real as well. I'm just not quite sure how to feel about it yet, I suppose. If this is a dream, I'm bound to wake up soon, but if not, then I've left my old life behind completely. What about my friends?" Cassie stared at the forest floor, not seeing the pained expression cross the Doctor's face as he glanced back once more, but Sarah Jane saw it and she sighed. "Like I said; complicated." The girls shared one last look before Laurence addressed them all.

"We're almost there. Just another minute or so, then we can clean you up, pal." The rest of the walk was spent in silence, and soon they were all piling in through the door to the lodge. The Doctor helped Laurence set Warlock on the couch while Sarah tried to make it as comfortable as possible for the elderly man. While Laurence was cleaning Warlock's wound, the Doctor made his way over to Cassie, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Cassie glanced up at him, startled, and once again, the thought of their height difference crossed her mind.

"Are you all right, Cas?" His brown eyes were concerned, his face drawn down in a serious expression. Cassie nodded, not looking away from his gaze.

"I'm okay. Just trying to figure everything out, I guess." The Doctor was quiet for a second, before he sighed.

"Cas, I need you to listen to me, okay?" Cassie nodded, showing she was listening. "This is all real. Everything you see here, it's real. You're probably going to doubt this for a little while longer, I know, but when you do realize that this is real, I'll be there to help you, I promise." Cassie felt tears welling up in her eyes, clouding her vision slightly, at the thought of her old life being gone, but the Doctor was right. She still didn't trust that this was all real, yet, but with every second she could feel her resolve wavering. When the Doctor noticed her teary eyes, he tugged on her arm lightly, pulling her into his chest and held her close. Neither of them moved for a good minute or so, just letting the other comfort them, but when Cassie's head began to pound once more, she had to release her grip on his brown coat the hold her head. "Oh, Cas. I promise you that I'll be there when you open your eyes. Please remember that I'm always there to talk to." Cassie smiled gently through the pain, reaching out her right hand to touch the side of his face before her headache grew even more intense. Within seconds, she felt her feet leave the ground and she closed her eyes. Time didn't seem to matter within the vortex. Cassie couldn't tell you how long she spent floating, but she didn't mind. The time vortex was comforting in a way. It could have been minutes, hours, or even days before she felt her feet touch the ground once more, and when she opened her eyes, she was faced with two blonde women, and then the world went black.

 **So, what did you think? Please, please review and let me know!**

 **P.S. If there are any specific episodes you would like to see, please review or PM me and let me know. I will do my best to make you guys happy, but if I already have plans for a particular episode, I won't be able to do it early and I will let you know.**


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